In an instant
by SwissEagle
Summary: A lot can change in an instant, as Moegi is going to find out when a freak sandstorm strikes her team. No pairings.


This plot bunny belongs to Zuri Claudette, so she gets credit for that part, and I get credit for doing the grunt work!

I don't own Naruto!

Moegi couldn't remember the last time a mission had been this dull. Udon was reciting the multiplication tables and Konohamaru was absently singing, that's how dull it was. Since it was around Suna, there was sand everywhere, and the heat had been unbearable up until five minutes ago. Now, Moegi felt a light breeze. She sighed in gratitude. If she couldn't be entertained, at least she would be cool.

The breeze started to scratch her eyes. She looked up in confusion. What she saw made her heart freeze. "Konohamaru, Udon, look!" she cried out, pointing to the wall of sand coming towards them.

Udon gasped and Konohamaru shouted, "What the heck?!" Moegi shook their shoulders impatiently. "We have to find cover, come on!" She turned and ran without looking to see if they were following.

Before she could reach the rocky mound she saw, she was hit by the full force of the sandstorm. She cried out, but the sound was lost amid the sand. She struggled forward, hands stretched outwards and eyes squeezed shut.

Finally her hands connected with the rough outcropping, and she got behind it. She breathed a sigh of relief, finding it was an alcove. She coughed up some sand. They would be fine now...

She realized with a horrible drop in the pit of her stomach that her teammates were still out there, and the storm was whistling now.

She stayed where she was for what seemed like hours, though it was only a few minutes. Finally, the storm was over. But the worst was still yet to come.

She looked out from behind the rock, and suddenly her lungs didn't work. There, in front of her, was the faceless corpse of Udon. She only knew it was him because his glasses were trapped under his head.

She began breathing heavily, looking around for help. It was then she spotted Konohamaru. He was splayed across the rock she had been hiding behind this entire time. His mouth was open in a scream, but his face was essentially gone, just like Udon, torn away by the sand.

Moegi began to tremble violently, then fell to her knees. At first she could barely gasp for air, but then her grief came pouring out in one long, agonised scream.

After she lay there for a while, she finally got up. She couldn't bear to look at her teammates, whom the storm had robbed of their identity.

Instead, she stumbled off in a random direction. The entire landscape had changed, just like her life.

The sun was blazing again, and she felt sick for having been grateful for the coolness of the pre-storm. She continued forward in a haze, unsure where she was going and why she would even care.

Hours later, she tripped on a rock, her dried, chapped lips easily splitting as she let out a hoarse croak. She didn't get up, somehow deciding it was futile to struggle against the desert any longer. Tears did not come, as her body was now deprived of liquid and willpower.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over her. She looked up, wondering if it was another unexpected change in the weather.

Instead, she saw a tall, blonde woman looking down at her with a look of pity. "Hey, leaf-nin, how'd you get all the way out here?" Moegi stared, until the woman repeated her query, and then she attempted to speak, instead croaking a couple of pitiful dry sobs.

A look of concern washed over the sand-nin's face. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, apparently aware more was wrong than merely being lost in the desert. When she didn't get any reply other than more sobs, she sighed and leaned down, lifting up the smaller girl in her arms.

"I'll get you back to Suna, okay? You'll be fine. I'm Temari of the Sand, by the way. Who are you?" Temari said, easily carrying Moegi. Moegi just croaked at her again, and Temari let her gratefully relax for now.

Neither one knew it at the time, but this would be the start of an amazing partnership.

Ta-da! I hope you enjoyed that one, Zuri Claudette. Let me know if it was any good, please.


End file.
